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It follows the announcement in October that the handcrafted burger specialist had earmarked 17 restaurants for potential closure after running up millions of pounds of losses.

Last month owner Famous Brands appointed accountancy firm Grant Thornton to initiate a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), an insolvency procedure used by struggling firms to ditch under-performing sites.

It revealed around 17 of Gourmet Burger Kitchen's restaurants had been earmarked to shut, impacting 250 of its 2,000 employees.

No list of branches earmarked for closure has ever been released by the firm so the fate of the Exeter branch is not yet known.

Devon Live has contacted GBK for a comment.

The Exeter GBK opened in the Guildhall as part of the new dining quarter in September 2016, along with Turtle Bay, Absurd Bird, The Stable, Polpo and The Terrace.

However in January Polpo closed their doors after being open for less than a year, which was quickly replaced by Pho.

It also follows in the footsteps of rival chain Byron that closed 16 restaurants around the UK following a CVA deal in January this year.

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A string of restaurant groups have also resorted to the measure to close outlets over the past 12 months, including Carluccio’s and 62 Prezzo restaurants including the branches in Exeter and Barnstaple.

At the time, Prezzo's like-for-like sales had fallen 8.1% for the year to December 2017, while revenue dropped 3.3 per cent over the same period.

Carluccio's meanwhile, referred to accountancy giant KPMG in May this year in search of a rescue scheme to help it keep trading.

It said it was asking landlords for rent reductions following a strategic review of its operations, warning 34 stores were on the line.

It marks a troubled year for the dining business sparked by Jamie's Italian which was placed at risk in January.

The chef himself was forced to inject £13 million into his business after the future of all 35 branches was placed on the line.

Then came the collapse of Toys R Us, Maplin and Poundworld - all of which have since disappeared from the high street.

Famous Brands, which only acquired GBK in 2016 for £120 million, previously warned it was considering "strategic options" for the firm amid a difficult trading period.

Earlier this month the firm said that it would take a pre-tax impairment charge of 874 million rand (£47.2 million) due to the brand's sustained under-performance.

(Image: Daniel Clark)

Commenting on last month's announcement regarding the GBK closures, Alex Probyn, president of UK expert services at real estate adviser Altus Group, said: "There has been huge growth in the casual dining market, with restaurant numbers up 15% overall since 2010.

"The race for space has pushed up rents impacting on rateable values. Extra tax for business rates coupled with rising food prices and staff costs through increases in both the national and minimum wages are creating a potentially lethal cocktail as margins are squeezed."

Bosses said Wimpy, meanwhile, which has the same owner, will make a comeback this year in a revival of the 60-year-old burger house.